Iris is cold. Unfortunately, she's going to have to stay that way. Emmalee can't teleport to Evercity, so they must walk.

The whole way.

Suddenly, Emmalee stops. She holds her hand out to Iris, and she stops. "Something's wrong..." At that moment, someone steps out from behind a snowdrift, wielding a modified ice cane.

Sonox Blackspark.

Emmalee draws her own Shepherd's Crook, holding it in a ready position. "Hello, Applematch. If you'll excuse me, I need Purple to come with me." Sonox says with a smug smirk. Emmalee sets her jaw. "No way." She growls. "This was not how I planned this."

Sonox strikes first, swinging her deadly Frost Cane towards the blue-armored girl. Emmalee parries, then goes on the offense herself. Iris watches, her hands over her mouth. She remembers how the last duel she witnessed ended up. She fears for her big sister.

But Emmalee is not easily defeated. For every swing the other girl makes, she makes two more. Her speed and fury is almost overwhelming Blackspark. Blackspark is breathing hard, and beads of sweat stand out on her forehead even in the frigid Snowmoorian wind.

Just when it looks like Emmalee might knock the weapon from her opponent's hand, she leaps back to dodge a blast of what looks like....lava. Standing behind Iris is a tall man wearing a red-glowing gauntlet, grinning evilly.

Unfazed, Emmalee ducks another swipe from Sonox, keeping an eye on both opponents. Iris is awestruck at her sister's agility and awareness of where both enemies are and what they are doing. She grins, for the first time thinking that they might get out of this.

Until the man punches the ground with his gauntlet, sending shock waves through the packed snow.

No. Not packed snow.Ice.

The ground cracks under Emmalee's feet, and she disappears from sight with a shriek suddenly cut short as she hits the bottom of the sinkhole. Iris stares shocked at the hole as the two others turn slowly to face her.

"She's been gone too long. Way too long." I say to no one in particular. That nagging feeling is stronger now, like the answer to a question is just a hair away from being revealed. Only I don't know which question.

"Maybe your parents just wanted her to stay for a bit?" Jacoby says, but I don't think he believes it. I shake my head.

"We always call each other once we reach Evercity. Too much could go wrong, so we always check in when we go there. She hasn't." I cross the same patch of grass for the eightieth time. "We need to go look for them. Em has her own share of enemies, and mine would go after her too. There's just too much that could go wrong." I repeat.

We teleport to Jefferson's base, the closest Aetherstep to Evercity. They would've gone the rest of the way across the North Slurries on foot. We only have to follow the two sets of bootprints.

We follow them right to a hole.

"Hold on, there were two more people that came from over there." Gloria says, pointing to two bigger sets of prints in the snow. "They came over here, and it looks like...Emmalee was fighting them." She follows the tracks with her finger. "But most of the fight happened right over this hole. I don't think it was here then."

Edging out onto the ice surrounding the sinkhole, I peer down into the dark cavity. No. Oh, please, no.

"Guys?" My voice cracks. "I found Emmy."

We drop a rope down the sinkhole, and May climbs down to secure it around Emmalee. After we hoist them up, Gloria-of-the-many-talents checks to make sure she's not hurt. "No broken bones, but she might have a slight concussion. The helmet mostly protected her, though, so I wouldn't worry too much."

I lean back, sighing in relief. Suddenly, Emmalee's eyes fly open, and she struggles to sit up. "Iris..." she mutters before falling back down.

"Emmy! What happened?!" I ask. She shakes her head. "Sonox. And a guy with a magma gauntlet. I tried to fight them off, but the guy broke the ice under me. They took Iris..." she moans.

My hands clench into fists. "She's trying to get to me. She took Iris so I'd go off to rescue her." The utter cliché-ness of the situation is almost as frustrating as the fact that person I know absolutely nothing about just kidnapped my sister to capture me.

Again. WHY.

"Well, we can't go to rescue her. We'd just get caught." Ilayne says. "But we can't leave her." She bites her lip. "What are we going to do?"

Emmalee sits up again, slower this time. "You should split up. Aislinn and, say, Nikko could stay in hiding so Blackspark doesn't get her, and the rest of us can rescue Iris."

In my rage, an insane plan starts growing in the corner of my mind. This is crazy. But then again.... My comlink suddenly beeps, making me jump. I answer it, and Iliara's face shows up.

"Aislinn? You there?" Her voice is fuzzy with static. "Yeah. What's wrong?"

"There's a huge battalion of Automatons marching through town. They've been arresting people left and right, destroying stuff. They even tried to search the Beacon. We barely got the passage closed in time. We managed to rescue the urchins, but the Grotto's pretty much demolished. They've got these new clankers, and we don't have a chance against them."

You've got to be kidding me. "Those are Slipstreamers. Whatever you do, do not try to fight them. Keep hiding, I'll try to get some of the ASRC together and we'll take care of it. Aislinn out."

"Are you kidding me!?" Nikko puts his face in his hands. "This is the absolute last thing we need right now."

I take a deep breath, standing up straight. This better work... "I've got a plan. It's risky, but I think it's all we've got at this point." I look at Ilayne.

"Ha, it's rather a long story. The girls and Jacoby will tell you on the way. The only thing you need to worry about is borrowing my dress." Scarlett cocks her head.

"Wha-"

"You're going to rescue my sister dressed as me so the person who captured her will think I'm there. Now GO!" I shoo them off, and they go with only a few confused backward glances. "Ariella is in charge until we meet back up! She knows what to do!"

Xonos and Nikko stay with me, but they're confused as well. "Uh, didn't you say you were going to get some ASRC kids...?" Nikko asks.

"No time. We're going to do this fast, but it's going to be personal and very flashy. Nikko, get some detonators. Xonos, get whatever your favorite Auto-smacking device is and meet us on the bridge above the Grotto. I'm going to get my sniper rifle. If I'm not there in eight minutes...you know the drill. Come rescue me." I flash a grin, then run off to find my rifle.

I took a long breath. I was in charge of finding Iris. I felt a flicker of nervousness, but quickly pushed it away. I had to fix this, and now was no time to be nervous. I recalled the brief instructions Aislinn had given me, then held up my Aethermeter tracker. Iris had an Aethermeter, so at least we had some way of finding her. The problem was, she could be anywhere. First we would search the Snowmoors, just in case Blackspark had a hideout here.

On the screen of the tracker, I only saw a few lone Aethermeters, none of which matched Iris's. I glanced over at Scarlett. The others were explaining to her about everything that had happened. She was now dressed up as Aislinn, and I thought it was a very good disguise. If a person didn't look at her eyes, they might think she was actually Aislinn. That was the point, after all.

We were nearing the sea now. I saw a flicker of purple at the top of the tracker's screen, very faint. It could be Iris's. "I think we should go look in No Man's Landing. There's a signal coming from that direction," I said to the others, pointing out across the water. "Meet you all in Lukas's Workshop."

Everyone got out their Aethermeters and teleported. A flash of gold, blue, and purple light filled my vision, and in the next instant I was standing in the Aetherstep in the middle of the Workshop. Everyone in the rescue party soon followed.

We began searching for Iris's Aethermeter signal again. I found it on the tracker's screen and followed it into the forest around No Man's Landing. I had a curious sense of déjà vu and paused to look at the trees. Then I realized where we were heading. The door in the side of the cliff, and the secret base that we had once rescued Aislinn from.

Now that they're all gone from their base, I can now infiltrate it. Ugh, there's a lock on it. Should have thought to figure out the passcode. Wait, I have the mind-reader. I can just see what Aislinn's thinking about. Oh. She's thinking about how to destroy those Slipstreamers... Never mind, I brought extra bombs for a reason. I just love a good bang.

Now to blow up the base without them knowing that it was I who did it. Hmm... Oh! The classic frame n' run! Now who to blame... How about that Iris? She's always so suspicious anyway. Hmm.... now how to blame her. ... before they left she was playing with the Pringles containers. I'll slip my weakest bomb in there. The rest will go in the middle of the base. When all of them go off, the only remains they will find is the bomb in the Pringle containers. That should do the trick.

Now for that problem of those Slipstreamers... They shouldn't be that much of a threat.

Scarlett inhaled and exhaled slowly, looking with big, wary eyes at the huge door in the cliff. She had quickly changed into the green dress and barette that Aislinn had handed her, and as she looked into a hand mirror she wasn't surprised why she had chosen her. Excluding the eyes, they could be twins. Personality wise though? No way. That's were the acting came in. She smirked.

Ariella and the others had filled her in on the plan, which she had questioned a little herself, but she knew Aislinn was usually pretty good with these types of things. This was her little sister they were trying to rescue after all. Scarlett just hoped it worked.

The entire team gathered in trees a few yards away from the door, discussing just what we should do now.

"Last time you used a smoke bomb to get them out of hiding, Ari," May spoke up.

"But who is them this time?" Gloria asked in a thoughtful voice. "Blackspark and a guy with a magma gauntlet, right Emmalee?"

Emmalee nodded. "Yup."

"Sounds dangerous," Ilayne said with a smirk.

"I don't think I should use a smoke bomb this time," I said, looking down at the screen of my Aethermeter tracker. The purple light representing Iris's Aethermeter pulsed brightly. "If I'm reading the tracker right, she isn't in the secret base itself, she's further back. Do you remember that cave room, May? Vytanni and Etlo, you both were there, too."

Vytanni nodded. "I remember. What is our plan, then?"

"I just got my jetpack fixed," May said. "Once we know where she is, I could rocket over and pick her up."

"What about Sonox and the guy with the lava gauntlet?" Jacoby asked.

"They might come after me," Scarlett told us. "Which means we need to have a trap ready for them. How about Etlo, Jacoby, and Vy wait to ambush them somewhere if they follow me, and the rest of you can rescue Iris then."

"They might not fall for it," Gloria pointed out. "We need to have a backup plan."

"I could just go in and distract them," Etlo offered.

"Okay, that's the backup plan," I said. "Before that we'll try to lead them into a trap just like...ahem...Aislinn said, and if that doesn't work Etlo will attack and I'll light a smoke bomb to distract the bad guys so we can grab Iris and make a run for the exit. Everyone got it?"

At their nods, I turned to face the door in the cliff. Time to rescue Iris.

We went through the doorway, creeping down the stairs single file with Etlo at the front to smash anyone who might jump out at us. Vytanni and I were just behind him, followed by Jacoby, Scarlett, Ilayne, Emmalee, Gloria, and May. We came into the room at the bottom of the stairs. Nothing appeared to have been changed since the last time we'd been here, except that the bookshelf which hid the secret passage was completely closed.

Etlo, Jacoby, and Vytanni positioned themselves in that room while the rest of us continued on through the secret passage. We came closer and closer to Iris's Aethermeter signal, and soon the tunnel opened out into the massive cavern with the island of rock in the center. The piano was still there. And beside the piano was Iris, tied up, and not looking very happy. Next to her stood a man with a gauntlet on his arm.

"Ah, Miss Mollisong. How nice of you to join us," he said, grinning evilly. "Now if you would kindly surrender before your sister gets hurt...."

"Should I do as he says?" Scarlett asked me.

"Yes, but don't get too close. He'll realize soon enough that something's up," I told her, then turned to whisper something to Ilayne. "Go get Etlo and the others. I think we'll have to go with the backup plan." She nodded and disappeared through the passageway again.

"Wait, where's Blackspark?" Gloria suddenly asked.

I looked back at the island of rock, realizing that she was right. Sonox was ominously absent from the picture.

"That isn't good," Emmalee muttered, looking around nervously as if Blackspark would materialize out of the shadows at any moment.

Scarlett approached the shaky wooden bridge which spanned the chasm and took a hesitant step onto it.

"No, Aislie! Don't!" Iris screamed, but fell silent when her captor pointed his gauntlet at her.

"It's okay, Iris!" Scarlett called back to her before taking another step forward.

Scarlett stopped in the middle of the bridge and smirked right back at him. "Oh, really?" His triumphant expression faded, and I knew he suspected something.

I took a smoke bomb from a pocket on my sash, then asked Vytanni, who had just appeared in the tunnel behind us, to light it. In that instant, chaos erupted. Etlo jumped over the chasm and headed straight for the gauntlet guy as I threw the smoke bomb, praying that it would make it across. It did, and landed right next to Iris and her captor, pouring out a cloud of white smoke.

"Go, May!" I shouted, and she rocketed across the cavern and into the cloud, wearing her helmet to filter out the smoke. First I heard Iris screaming something about a person named Magnus. Perhaps that was the magma gauntlet guy. Then I heard Etlo yelling his signature "tin can" line. May flew out of the smoke a moment later, carrying Iris.

We came out through the door in the cliff a moment later, then slammed it shut.

"Is everyone all right?" I asked, taking a quick head count. No one was missing, thank the Great Engineer. They nodded in response. "Now we must go back to No Man's Landing. There are some crazy autos on the loose. I just hope we can get there in time to help."

I meet the boys on the bridge in less than eight minutes. "Safe for now!" I whisper cheerfully, slinging my rifle into the holster on my back. "Here's the plan. You two are going to wait behind that tree near the docks for the parade to pass you. When they do, throw these," I hand Nikko some specialized explosives. "and the detonators smack in the middle of their ranks. Then run."

"But what are you going to do? If you think we're going to let you go off alone again-" I hold up my hand.

"Unfortunately, you are. If I stay with you, the clankers will sense me or whatever they do. There'll be no point in trying to ambush them. I'm going to be up on the rooftops sniping at the officers. And I'll have my com. I'll be fine." He doesn't look convinced. Neither am I. But he agrees. Xonos stays quiet.

"So, you ready?" They nod. "Then let's do this."

Five minutes later, I'm atop the third tallest building in NML, peering through my rifle scope at the marching ranks of Slipstreamers and the usual town 'Tons. The officers aren't that hard to spot with their green-gold trim. I center one in my crosshairs, taking a deep breath, my finger tightening on the trigger.

Something flies in front of my scope. What in Aethasia....? I lower my rifle, trying to find it again. Something creaks behind me.

Before I can turn my head, a hand clamps over my mouth, and a strong arm grabs around my waist, pinning my arms. I try to scream, but can barely breathe. My rifle drops off the edge of the roof, firing into the air. The hand around my waist grabs my comlink and throws it off as well. The person drags me backwards over the roof, down into a trapdoor.

The person suddenly lets go of me, and I drop down the trapdoor opening, landing hard and hitting my head on the stone floor of the room below. Not hard enough to knock me out, thankfully, but hard enough to send spirals of agony through my skull. I clutch my head, unable to make any noise but a dazed moan.

The trapdoor slams closed above me, and over the pounding in my ears I hear the person jump off the ladder leading down into the room. I crack my eyes open to see a dimly glowing blue weapon. Steam curls from what looks like a modified ice cane, and the eerie glow illuminates a girl's face, framed by silver hair.

Sonox Blackspark smiles.

I scramble back until I hit a wall. "No, no, no, I didn't do anything to you, please-" I start hyperventilating. Not good, NOT GOOD! She steps forward, her weapon pointed straight at me.

"Well, we finally meet each other, Miss Mollisong. I for one have been looking forward to meeting the famous Aislinn in person." Her voice is like frosted steel.

"Wouldn't it be embarrasing if I weren't...on second thought, yes, I'm Aislinn, happy to meet you and happier yet to stay alive." My eyes, now used to the darkness of what looked to be an abandoned bedroom, flit to the side, trying to find a door. There is one, but I'd never make it.

"Yep, I always am. Now, if you would mind pointing that ice cane away from me, we can talk. What do you want? Nikko? Sorry, I can't make him evil again. Information? Gladly, as long as it's nothing important."

Then Sonox laughs. A shiver skitters down my spine. "None of the above. I'm only here to fix a few mistakes."

NOT GOOD! A WHOLE LOT WORSE! "Um, what mistakes? I don't think I've done anything lately that would affect you. Unless it's that tiny time-space-continuum rip I made a while back, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't a thing." I start shaking.

She sighs. "Don't play dumb, Mollisong. It doesn't suit you. I'm talking about your recent escapades, the craziest ones? The ones that made it a lot harder for me to conduct my private business. You generally make things more difficult wherever you go, don't you?" The cane gets closer, barely six inches from my chest.

"Would it help the situation at all if I told you that mostly why you're mad at me is because I have an Aethermatron heart? It reacts with fog, you see, so if someone is super foggy then they basically hate my guts for no reason." I press my back into the wall. "So, you might not actually want to do this, its just the fog in your system-" The tip of the cane touches my chest. I squeak.

"You like this? It's my Frost Cane. Easily twice as lethal as the standard Icicle." She draws it back. "What..." I hear it too. Thudding coming from the direction of the one door. A second later, the door bursts open. Sonox mutters something under her breath when Nikko and Xonos appear in the splintered doorway.

"Aislinn!" Nikko takes one step forward, his fists clenched. "Blackspark, you get away from her now."

"Ah, Miss Mollisong. How nice of you to join us," a man with a magma gauntlet said, grinning evilly. "Now if you would kindly surrender before your sister gets hurt..."

I had joined the party later than everyone, so I was extremely puzzled on where we were and who this was, but I felt an anger rising inside me that he would threaten Iris that way.

I clenched her fists. "Should I do as he says?" I whispered quietly to Ariella, who stood by me.

"Yes, but don't get too close. He'll realize soon enough that something's up." she replied before turning to my sister.

Acting like Aislinn and leader of the group, I stepped confidently in front of everyone, preparing to walk across the sketchy-looking bridge that lay before me. My heart thumped as I looked across it, but I thought of my goal and carefully dropped my foot down...

"No, Aislie! Don't!" I heard Iris scream, and I glanced up in time to see her being threatened yet again. My anger rose again, but I forced it down.

"It's okay, Iris!" I called softly to her, taking another step. She may have seen something waiting to happen, I had to be careful. The bridge shook violently even under my small frame, but I continued on slowly.

"How predictable you are, Miss Mollisong," The mysterious man mocked me with a smirk. However, I really didn't take it personally. In fact, I smirked back at him. "Oh really?" I grinned even bigger when I saw his loss in confidence as he looked into my eyes.

Smoke started to protrude everywhere as May and Etlo flew over me, May grabbing Iris and Etlo leaping on the man. I quickly raced off the bridge before anything happened, trying to see through the smoke.

As everyone dashed out of the now polluted cave, Iris sided me, but she gasped when she looked in my eyes.

"Where's Aislie?!!" She screamed frantically.

"It's alright Iris, we'll find her," I compassionately looked at her.

"Yeah, she's safe, don't worry!" Ariella confirmed.

I hope...

Our massive group raced into No Man's Landing, hoping we would get there on time to help out the real Aislinn and her party. Aislinn had told Ariella where she hoped to find them, so we knew exactly where to go.

But there was no one there....

"Well this is sketch," May said, "really sketch."

"It is. Where could they be? And where's all the action and noise?" Etlo walked forward and scanned the surrounding area. All of us did.

One hour previously....

As we walked through the forest to No Man's Landing, I talked a little to Iris. "Why did you throw the smoke bomb?"

"It seemed like a good idea," she said, shrugging.

"But it wasn't." I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what I was about to say. "And that's partly my fault, so I'm sorry."

Iris perked up. "What?"

"I showed you how to make the smoke bombs, but not the proper ways to use them."

She was silent for a moment, then chuckled darkly. The others looked at us suspiciously and edged farther away. "I suppose it is your fault, then, Miss Ari," Iris said, her dark ponytail bouncing a little as she skipped along. "But I forgive you. And to make up for it you have to teach me the proper ways to use them."

I smirked. "Challenge accepted. You see, smoke bombs can often be used to distract the enemy or force them out of their hiding place. They can also be used to cover a retreat." Then I launched into a complicated explanation about the alternative uses of smoke bombs, the dangers of using them, and a few of the ways I had used them in the past. Iris listened attentively and nodded every so often.

"You just destroyed your only hope. Father would've been disappointed if he lived here to see it."

"That I've finally found my old friendship?"

"That you had hope in the first place," she snarls.

We begin slowly moving in a circle. Both weapons activated and ready.

"You won't win this time," I say.

"And why's that?"

"The good guys always win in the end."

"And you're the good guy?"

"Yes, now I am."

Sonox scoffs, "Your stupidity appalls me."

I raise my blade to attack position.

Sonox speaks again, "You're right about one thing though. This is the end... for YOU!"

She lunges forward and slices the air with her Frost Blade. At lightning speed, I fight back.

Both blades cracking and fizzling as they come together in opposite motion.

I see Nikko and Aislinn out of the corner of my eye. Still lying there.

Sonox sees my eyes turning back.

She laughs, "Worried about your newfound friends? Don't worry, I'll take care of them for you!"

She throws me back with her blade and speeds toward the unconscious two.

She raises her blade for a moment, then brings it down for the kill.

I stop it at the last moment with my blade. Sonox's face contorts with rage. The first time I've ever seen her lose her cool.

And in her rage... she gets sloppy.

Chopping at my defenses, I am able to jab at her leg. She steps back. I twist around and slice at her head. She ducks and takes another step back. The same goes on for another new minutes, and for a moment, I almost win.

But it was a trap.

Sonox trips me and begins running towards Aislinn and Nikko.

Fortunately, I grab her leg and do the same to her.

She stomps on my arm and I shout in pain as something breaks. "You just made a grave mistake," she says, "and now I'm going to put you in one."

"I'll take you with me," I say through gritted teeth.

Sonox grins and reaches for her Frost Blade, but it's not there. It's in my hand.

Her triumphant look begins to morph into fear when I throw her weapon over the roof.

She tries getting up, but I'm standing first.

I grab her by the collar and lift her up. Keeping her secure, I see the river close by. Sonox sees it too.

I turn back and see her Cheshire grin before she makes us both fall and rolls us off the roof.

I don't believe in coincedence. Neither does she. Sonox probably saw the wagon filled with hay coming. After falling into it, I try finding Sonox in the mess. After searching, I still can't find her. Standing up, I see that the wagon is by the riverside. I take in the view before turning back seeing a lunging Sonox.

We both fall into the rushing water.

Trying to fight, gasp for breath, and swim all at the same time is a tricky thing, but somehow both Sonox and I managed it.

We reach the rapids when Sonox slams me into one of the jagged rocks. "We could've been siblings!" she screams over the sound of the water.

"We could've worked together!" she says.

I push off the rock with my legs and throw her into another one before grabbing her around the next. "We didn't," I say, "get over it."

She doesn't have time to reply before she looks back and sees a waterfall.

A smile forms on her lips, "That water leads to the Fogworks. The acid will kill us both is the fall doesn't."

"I didn't plan on dying today," I say.

She looks back at me one last time before speaking, "but I did."

She then kicks me in the gut before throwing herself into the fall.

I catch a glimpse of her silverly hair, shining in the light one last time before being engulfed in the foggy darkness below. Then I smash into a rock, and blackness is all I see next.

No sign of Sonox around me. I only see the muddy banks. Unsure of how I was saved, I look around once more.

I find nothing. Whatever happened, I must of slipped into a separate stream after hitting that rock.

I look up and see the waterfall. The lights of No Man's Landing flickering behind it. I consider going back. Explaining to Aislinn and Nikko that what I did was for the best. That it wasn't a betrayal this time.

Was it? Did I betray them again? No, it couldn't be. I left them Bonnetfolly's coordinates and base locations back at their base. I kept my end of the deal, and I guess, they kept theirs as well.

I see some lights moving. The lamps clinking against each other by the river. I wonder if that's them, looking for me.

As far as they know, both Sonox and I are dead. Then again, the scenario could also be interpreted as another betrayal by me. I can only hope that they'll see Matt's coordinates and Sonox's left behind weapon as a side that it wasn't.

I decide to do them one better. They can believe I died. That I redeemed myself. That all their problems were gone...

I sit down in the mud. My once pristine white and black garb stained and tattered. There's a reflective puddle beside me. I look into it, but I don't see myself. It's just a face. A face full of fear and regret. I haven't seen that face in a long time.

I go into the river briefly to wash off the grime, and when I return to the side, I see my old mask and goggles embedded in the mud. The Tesla Blade also beside them a few feet away.

I reactively reach out to grab them, but I stop myself. I hear something. A rustle. Someone watching.

I look out, and I catch a glimpse of something running away into the shrubbery. I grab the blade, but not my mask or goggles. I leave those behind, as well as my torn coat along with the RS insignia sewn inside.

I begin walking after that shadow. Moonlight showing me my path through the woods. I don't know why I'm following it. Maybe it's because I don't have anything better to do. Maybe it's because I've always been curious person. But deep inside, I know why.

It's because I've seen that shadow before. I ignored it then, and everytime it came back I did the same thing. But this time, I felt different. I decided to follow it. Follow that shadow.

I took out the tracker and turned it on. I could see a few Aethermeters scattered throughout No Man's Landing, each signal varying slightly. I soon found Aislinn and Nikko's signals. They looked to be in one of the largest houses in town, at the far edge of the Business District. "There, that house," I said, pointing it out.

We started off, weaving through long, narrow alleys in an attempt to dodge the scary little automatons which lurked everywhere. We didn't have time to fight them. We had to find Aislinn before it was too late. Sonox's strange absence made me feel uneasy, and I'd learned to trust my instincts.

Within a few minutes, we'd made it to the District and to the designated house. "Top floor," I informed the others after a quick glance at the tracker.

Jacoby checked the door, finding it to be unlocked.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. "All right. Let's go."

I open my eyes, then instantly regret it. Waves of nausea and pain swirl in my head, and I feel sick to my stomach. I try to remember why.

Oh, yeah.

I force myself to sit up, keeping my hand on the wall. It's almost pitch black in the abandoned house now, which means I must have been out for at least a few hours. I hear someone move beside me.

"What...what happened?" Nikko's voice croaks.

"Nikko! You're okay!" I rasp. My voice is weird, and I cough a couple times. "I don't know what happened to you...what happened to me?"

Rustling beside me, which must mean he's sitting up. "Ohhh....I can't remember...agh, I hurt all over." A few seconds later, he growls. "Darkgrate...he hit me with my Tesla Blade! I was going to give it to him anyway, but he took it and hit me with my own weapon! He's going to pay...wait. Wait. Where are they?"

I shrug before remembering he can't see me. "I don't know. Sonox...hit me, right? And then...they must have fought. But they're gone." My pounding, confused head can't keep track of my thoughts.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The simple question sets off an emotional waterfall. "No. No, I'm not okay." I start crying. "None of this is okay!" I bury my face in my hands.

Nikko puts his hand on my shoulder. "I know. But you're alive, right? After everything that went nuts, you made it."

"But that's just it!" I moan. "I made it. I survived. But so many other people are getting hurt because of me and my stupid heart! You got hurt, Iris and Emmalee got hurt, I don't even know what's going on with everyone else! And that was just today!!! People have died because of me. I could handle it if it was just my life being threatened every two minutes. And they know that! Which is why this whole thing started in the first place!" I slam my fist into the wall.

Nikko is silent for several moments. I eventually quit sobbing, but tears keep sliding down my face. I can't help it. The past two weeks were the craziest, most painful, most traumatic ones of my life. And my life's been pretty crazy, painful, and traumatic up to this point. And honestly, this wasn't the worst part of any of it. But it was the breaking point.

He finally says something. "You're right." I blink away the tears. "That's not exactly the pep talk I was expecting." I say with a tiny smile.

"You're right. But you're a hero, aren't you? You know how the stories work. The heroes are pretty much the most miserable people in the world. The hero's friends are basically the most miserable people in the world. Because the enemy hates true heroes, and they'll do anything in their power to push that hero to the breaking point."

I wipe my eyes with my sleeve. "Sounds just about right."

"But the heroes always win. You know why? Because true heroes rely on the Lord for their strength. Some of the greatest heroes die fighting for those they love, but even then they haven't lost. They do exactly what the Lord intends them to do."

A few minutes of silence.

"You know what, I can certainly tell that you and Vytanni are related." I laugh in spite of myself. "And I am the most forgetful, bucketheaded-est wannabe-hero there ever was. Thank you." Thank you, Scarlet Man.

"You know what?" I say. "That sounded exactly like what a big brother would say."

"Uh...well, I am one, kinda...but I guess it kinda did." He laughs. "You do get into plenty of adventures, don't you?"

"Of course! What is the point of life without adventures like this!?"

"Oh, I like to think helping people's a pretty good one. Also maybe you not almost dying every two minutes."

Suddenly, I hear loud thudding coming from where the door should be. I gasp, and try to scramble backwards until I run into a dusty dresser.

The open door is filled with light. I squeeze my eyes shut against the brightness. My eyes had adjusted to the complete dark.

"Aislinn! Nikko!" At least eight voices shout. Ariella rushes forward, throwing her arms around me. "What on earth did you do this time!?" She lets go. "Oh my goodness, there's blood on your face. What happened!?"

"Uh, long story. Has anyone seen Sonox or Xonos lately? They kinda disappeared while we were unconscious."

"Unconscious!!?!??! All right, you are going to tell me what happened right now, young lady."

"NOW!"

From all sides of the street, urchins and Resistance kids alike hurl explosives, flash-bangs, and even a few rocks at the marching column of Slipstreamers,. As they run, the Automatons swivel their metal heads to examine the missiles.

Ten seconds later, there are no more Automatons.

"Well, something good happened today." I say from my perch at the telescope behind the Beacon.

"How about we-" I'm cut off by Jacoby running up to me, skidding to a stop in the grass.

"He's gone!" he cries.

"Who? Who's gone!?"

"Xonos." He holds out a muddy, torn mask and a shredded, filthy coat. "I found these by the riverbank. An urchin said he saw a boy and a girl on the roof of the building you were in. He said they fell into a hay wagon, and then...into the river. He said they both went over the falls." His voice is strangled. "I don't...I can't believe it. He's gone."

"No...." I whisper. He can't be...he's...he's not. "That can't be what happened. Would the Xonos Darkgrate we all know and...uh...well, would he just roll over and die if he fell off a waterfall? No! He probably left those on purpose so we would think he died, or his enemies would."

"Ace-"

"Maybe it is just wishful thinking, maybe it's just my annoyingly-persistent optimism, maybe it's because I know the Scarlet Man isn't done with him yet. But he's alive."

Jacoby opens his mouth like he's going to say something, but doesn't.

"I only wish...I only wish I could've told him that I don't hate him. He thinks we all do. I don't." I look into the telescope again. "And probably ask him why he wanted to keep that Ruka cure away from me. Oh, well. I'll find out sooner or later."

I storm out of the building. Seriously, that guy! I run all the way to Evergreen Meadows, swim across the lake, and climb the hill to the Rainbow Alpaca cliff. The wind blows through my hair, and I take a deep breath. The air isn't as foggy way up here.

In the quiet, the familiar nagging feeling returns. Like a lost puzzle piece...Okay, Aislinn. It's time you start thinking instead of running around like a madwoman.

There has to be some sort of connection between all the crazy events in the last two weeks. There just has to be. I run over the events in my mind.

Emmalee told me to search for the Warfalcon. I met Etlo in Greenshade Caverns. I got captured by Matt and Hans in their piano hideout. They infected me with Ruka. Nikko, May, and Ariella took me to the hospital. Nikko tried to find the cure. Xonos tried to stop him. Iris found it. I was cured. Xonos was captured. He and Matt burned down the hospital.

Matt showed me the Slipstreamer file. I went to the Abandoned Labs. Grimm caught us. Emmalee surrendered. We time traveled. Elise and Josh went rogue. We found the MCT in Nikko's lab. Iris told us (hinted, really) about Sonox. We sent Josh back to the past.

Ariella and Emmalee locked me in my room. I found out about my heart. Nikko visited me, and we looked at the security tapes. Xonos came to us for help. He asked us to help get rid of Sonox. Tasha and Zane attack our house. The...cow stampede. Emmalee sent Iris home. Iris got kidnapped. Emmalee suggested we split up.

And then....Sonox.

"There has to be something....." I mutter to the air.

"Need some help?" Ariella says from behind me. I turn.

"There's something fishy about this whole thing. And I mean the whole thing, starting from when I went out to find the Warfalcon. Something or someone's been masterminding it the whole time. But I have no clue what."

She nods. "I feel the same way." Neither of us say anything for a few seconds, each thinking. Then Ariella says, "You know, Emmalee's a really good actress. I think it was her reactions that really sold Scarlett's disguise when we went up against Magnus."

I stop breathing.

Emmalee's a good actress.

Wow, running for your life can really do murder on your detective skills.

"That's it." I whisper. "Emmalee. Emmalee's the one who suggested I go after the Warfalcon in the first place. She was the one that surrendered first when Zaul ambushed us. She was the one who said Iris should go home. She said we should split up."

Ariella looks skeptical. "Are you sure? That seems pretty sketchy..."

I shake my head. "No. You don't know her. Don't you see? She's an incredible actress. She can imitate any voice, disguise herself as anyone. She's been behind this the whole time, either paying off Imperials or pretending to be their superiors. I bet she even paid Sonox to start this vendetta. Remember that hot chocolate she gave me that night we were all in my house? She's been researching different types of sedatives. I asked her why....and she never gave me a straight answer. Oh, I am such an idiot!" I clutch the sides of my head.

"She's been setting you up this whole time...but for what? If she wanted to take you out, she could have done it any time."

"True, I could have." Emmalee stands behind us, her armor and jetpack on. "But of course, I didn't."

We both scream.

"Oh, please. There's no call for that. As I was saying, I could have taken any one of you down without the others even knowing it was me. But again, I didn't." She smirks. "Of course, the "why" you're going to have to figure out. Honestly, I thought you would have found me out months ago! You are getting rusty, aren't you, Aislinn? But I expect you haven't had much time to think these things through, what with the death threats and all." She ends with a sinister smile, her hands clasped behind her back.

I take a step back. "Not again. I thought you were over this! Remember?! You came back!"

"Oh, did I? Perhaps I only found it more prudent to pursue my interests secretly, instead of proclaiming them for the world to see."

Ariella whispers, "There's two of us. We could catch her. She's not armed."

I shake my head. "Oh, she's always armed." I don't move, not knowing what she could be hiding in her metal sleeves.

"Oh, well, this has been fun, ladies, but I think I'll leave now. Until we meet again, Aislinn." She activates her jetpack streaking over our heads into the distance.

"Well, that was unfortunate," Aislinn tells me in a curiously nonchalant voice.

"Unfortunate!?" I demanded, staring at her in shock. "UNFORTUNATE?!?!"

"Don't you think so?"

"YOUR SISTER TURNS EVIL AGAIN AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS UNFORTUNATE??!?!" I suddenly realized that I was yelling and snapped my mouth shut.

"Technically she never turned good in the first place...."

I crossed my arms and fought to steady my breathing. "That doesn't make this any better. Now let's go back to town. It isn't safe here." I look around nervously, then started down the hill.

What a world this was, where your own family could betray and scheme against you. That reminded me of my own sister, though I wasn't worried about her turning against us. She had learned long ago how terrible the fog was, and now she hated it as much as I did. I hadn't seen Arona since this whole adventure started. She was probably locked away in her base with her inventions. I smiled faintly. I would have to go visit her soon.

"Good job," I tell her. I throw her a black bag. "That's your payment for that job. Finish the other jobs and you'll get the rest."

She looks inside the bag. Of course she doesn't trust me. She takes out an animus servo and a steam compressor. She's building something big, I thought. Of course, I already knew what it was. One look at her list of demands shows it all.

"It's time for your next job." I tell her. "Here's a map of all the places that Aislinn's had a battle with someone. Blow up each of those places in chronological order and you'll get three more items that are on your list. She gives me a questioning look. I tell her, "I have my reasons. Now GO!"

We came back to the Beacon about a half hour later and entered the basement through the secret bookshelf door. Everyone was gathered there around the map table, talking quietly. When Aislinn and I entered, they fell silent and looked at us anxiously.

“I’m okay, don’t worry,” Aislinn said when she saw their worried expressions. “But we have a problem.”

“There always is,” muttered May under her breath.

“It’s actually not as much of a problem as it is an utter CATASTROPHE,” I interrupted.

“Emmalee…betrayed us," Aislinn said, unfazed by my outburst. "She’s been playing us all along. I didn’t even know, but it makes sense. She’s a good actress, and she’s been orchestrating all of this, beginning when I went to look for the Warfalcon and continuing on from there. It was all her.”

“Well, now we have her and Matt to contend with. How wonderful,” Ilayne said sarcastically.

Aislinn absently flexed the fingers of her Aethermatron arm. “Emmy even suggested that Iris leave so that we would split up.”

“Speaking of Iris,” I said, “I think it’s time we did something about her.”

“I’m standing right here, you know,” Iris piped up, poking me in the shoulder. “I want to stay and help.”

“But Iris, you did make a mistake with that smoke bomb. Do you remember what we talked about earlier?” At her nod, I continued. “I have a proposition to make.” I let the silence lengthen, enjoying the confused and intrigued expressions on the faces of my friends.

“I want to teach her.”

Aislinn looked mildly surprised and Iris began hopping up and down with elation, but the others could only gape at me.

"Are you sure about this, Ari?" Aislinn asked me, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

I nodded resolutely. “Perfectly sure."

"Okay, then. I'm fine with you teaching her."

I looked to the others. "Does anyone have any objections?"

I saw Nikko open his mouth and then close it again. No one else seemed to object, so I withdrew a tube of Pringles from my pocket and tapped Iris on both her shoulders and then the top of her head. “You, Iris Darkspark, are now my apprentice.”

May began clapping and the others hesitantly joined her.

“Now come, my young apprentice,” I said to Iris, perfectly seriously. “I will teach you the ways of the smoke bomb, the umbrella cane, the teapot, the Fashion Police, and the Pringle.”

“Wait, before you go,” Aislinn spoke up. “We must decide what to do about Emmalee and Matt.”